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Koban
Quantum gravity theory revealed hidden dimensions that concealed gravity’s strong link to Tachyon Space. Nearly unlimited cheap energy from tachyons led to the creation of Jump Hole technology and faster than light travel to the stars. In two hundred years, humanity had colonized over seven hundred planets in a volume five hundred light years in radius. Humankind enjoyed the benefits of the end of wars and disbanded its standing armies. Life was idyllic for three hundred years.
Then the Krall came.
The Krall, a warrior race with lightning-fast reflexes has used combat for 25,000 years to select the genes of the strongest and fastest warriors. This breeding program created a species fit to dominate the galaxy. Dominate everywhere but on Koban, an uninhabited planet with high gravity, teal colored flora and impossibly fast and savage animals that employ organic superconducting nerves.
The Krall captured humans at the fringes of their expansion for testing on Koban. Humanity was useful only if they were adequate fighters. If not, the Krall intended to destroy the species because they already had slave races, and humans were poor tasting meat animals. If humans proved worthy opponents, the Krall would fight with the same weapons humans used, in order to continue their quest for physical perfection.
Growing weary of the humans’ incapacity to fight well, the Krall were close to a decision to eliminate the race when they captured their last cargo of humans for testing – a ship containing bio-scientists. The choice was simple: Put up a good fight or condemn humanity to extinction. The Krall will discover more than one species knows how to bypass natural selection.
Then the Krall came.
The Krall, a warrior race with lightning-fast reflexes has used combat for 25,000 years to select the genes of the strongest and fastest warriors. This breeding program created a species fit to dominate the galaxy. Dominate everywhere but on Koban, an uninhabited planet with high gravity, teal colored flora and impossibly fast and savage animals that employ organic superconducting nerves.
The Krall captured humans at the fringes of their expansion for testing on Koban. Humanity was useful only if they were adequate fighters. If not, the Krall intended to destroy the species because they already had slave races, and humans were poor tasting meat animals. If humans proved worthy opponents, the Krall would fight with the same weapons humans used, in order to continue their quest for physical perfection.
Growing weary of the humans’ incapacity to fight well, the Krall were close to a decision to eliminate the race when they captured their last cargo of humans for testing – a ship containing bio-scientists. The choice was simple: Put up a good fight or condemn humanity to extinction. The Krall will discover more than one species knows how to bypass natural selection.
Audible Audio
First published August 17, 2012
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1079 people want to read
About the author
Stephen W. Bennett
11 books271 followersI was born in 1942, so I'm an autumn rather than a spring chicken. I live outside of Tampa, Florida with my fabulous wife Anita, and one son in college, Montana. I have three older boys, Mark, Gary, and Anthony, all of whom have married and presented us with terrific grandchildren.
My education gravitated to science, starting out as a physics major and my depression era folks told me I'd never make a living as a theoretical physicist (probably right, and Cosmology wasn't a career field then), so I moved to Electronics Engineering. I devoted (was drafted into) service for the US Army, and caring not a whit for my electronics background, they offered this draftee a job as an Air Traffic Controller. Cool new career field. Retired, I now work as a consultant for the FAA, supporting software I helped create.
I decided to try my hand at writing what I loved to read, Science Fiction. The Koban Series has established my unusually successful entry into SciFi as an indie author. 11 books at last count, and at least two more in my mind.
My education gravitated to science, starting out as a physics major and my depression era folks told me I'd never make a living as a theoretical physicist (probably right, and Cosmology wasn't a career field then), so I moved to Electronics Engineering. I devoted (was drafted into) service for the US Army, and caring not a whit for my electronics background, they offered this draftee a job as an Air Traffic Controller. Cool new career field. Retired, I now work as a consultant for the FAA, supporting software I helped create.
I decided to try my hand at writing what I loved to read, Science Fiction. The Koban Series has established my unusually successful entry into SciFi as an indie author. 11 books at last count, and at least two more in my mind.
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April 16, 2021Well I'm batting 1000 today. I have now returned 3 books to Audible. This book was the second "space opera" type book i started today. I pushed through the first and gave it a 2 for the idea. This one is so poor it crossed the line to annoying enough to make me want to have purchased a paper copy so I could throw it across the room!
The book opens up "okay" with the back story but a false note soon sounds. A female character "walks" onto the scene and she is, "tall and stunningly beautiful". Now I admit that many writers incorporate "tall and stunningly beautiful" female characters into their books, they might even be said to be ubiquitous (especially among lonely male writers...and possibly lonely lesbian writers though I'm not sure on that score). The thing is here that having set up a back ground where most human males had been wiped out in a past biological attack that spread from planet to planet the book's story become sex saturated.
Okay, I'm an adult. I can live with some sex in a book, I get that sex sells. But here when men and women meet there's almost a greeting of "hey baby I'm a fertile male want to f***?" Of course its phrased in a sort of courtly language with the female then giving her answer in the same sort of formal language. The book is so involved in the flirtatious, breeding type obsession of everybody the story hasn't got a chance.
Again, I could have lived with the universe where the people were obsessed with mating and replenishing the species but I somehow doubt that even in that situation we'd get the heavily sexualized greetings on the bridge of an interstellar war ship.
So an official "OH GOOD GRIEF" and I returned the book.
sigh maybe I'll like the next book I start.
The book opens up "okay" with the back story but a false note soon sounds. A female character "walks" onto the scene and she is, "tall and stunningly beautiful". Now I admit that many writers incorporate "tall and stunningly beautiful" female characters into their books, they might even be said to be ubiquitous (especially among lonely male writers...and possibly lonely lesbian writers though I'm not sure on that score). The thing is here that having set up a back ground where most human males had been wiped out in a past biological attack that spread from planet to planet the book's story become sex saturated.
Okay, I'm an adult. I can live with some sex in a book, I get that sex sells. But here when men and women meet there's almost a greeting of "hey baby I'm a fertile male want to f***?" Of course its phrased in a sort of courtly language with the female then giving her answer in the same sort of formal language. The book is so involved in the flirtatious, breeding type obsession of everybody the story hasn't got a chance.
Again, I could have lived with the universe where the people were obsessed with mating and replenishing the species but I somehow doubt that even in that situation we'd get the heavily sexualized greetings on the bridge of an interstellar war ship.
So an official "OH GOOD GRIEF" and I returned the book.
sigh maybe I'll like the next book I start.
November 21, 2014
I find it interesting that in a story set in a matriarchal world, the leader is a male. In fact, all of the female leaders are shown to be incompetent, selfish or conservatively inclined when the human race cannot afford it. And the people who are rising up as the competent leaders in this book and the start of the second: male. I am not sure if I think Bennett is a sexist jerk. Because plenty of males are shown to be incompetent/blinded by self and there are some strong female characters who do their jobs well and bravely. I this just a very rah rah male fight book with a matriarchal society in the background?
I strongly dislike Bennett's pushing that now that the human race is at war again, males will start taking over again. On the one hand, it's basically saying when women are in charge, things get peaceful. On the other hand, it's saying when things get tough, men should be in charge. Both are horrible things to say. Furthermore, the aliens are so fast and strong that it's pretty much stated that humans have to use trickery and long-distance weapons. Therefore, there is no reason why men would be better at making war on the aliens than women.
And then you get things like a woman dying because she wore heels while evacuating from the ship. Mind you, she was making the tough choice between very bad terrain for her feet and heels, but she could have broken off the heel or found a different pair of shoes or wrapped her feel in smart cloth. Then another woman gets her whole team killed because she freaked over a snake. So the women die helplessly (without making a kill or serious damage), often for stupid reasons, but some of the men get to die bravely while proactively doing things.
I don't know. I don't know. Bennett, what are you trying to say? Are you even aware you are saying something?
And yet I am enjoying this book and want to see where it goes. Despite this whole confusing-seeming anti-female thing and an audiobook reader who, I swear, is reading the book like a textbook except when it comes to dialogue and then he mixes up the voices for who is talking and, and, he's just not professional-grade yet. *head desk*
Maybe I will go through all the Kate Daniels books after this series. Beautiful, beautiful Kate Daniels books...
I strongly dislike Bennett's pushing that now that the human race is at war again, males will start taking over again. On the one hand, it's basically saying when women are in charge, things get peaceful. On the other hand, it's saying when things get tough, men should be in charge. Both are horrible things to say. Furthermore, the aliens are so fast and strong that it's pretty much stated that humans have to use trickery and long-distance weapons. Therefore, there is no reason why men would be better at making war on the aliens than women.
And then you get things like a woman dying because she wore heels while evacuating from the ship. Mind you, she was making the tough choice between very bad terrain for her feet and heels, but she could have broken off the heel or found a different pair of shoes or wrapped her feel in smart cloth. Then another woman gets her whole team killed because she freaked over a snake. So the women die helplessly (without making a kill or serious damage), often for stupid reasons, but some of the men get to die bravely while proactively doing things.
I don't know. I don't know. Bennett, what are you trying to say? Are you even aware you are saying something?
And yet I am enjoying this book and want to see where it goes. Despite this whole confusing-seeming anti-female thing and an audiobook reader who, I swear, is reading the book like a textbook except when it comes to dialogue and then he mixes up the voices for who is talking and, and, he's just not professional-grade yet. *head desk*
Maybe I will go through all the Kate Daniels books after this series. Beautiful, beautiful Kate Daniels books...
January 10, 2021
This book has everything: space battles, aliens, and terrific writing. There was a negative-ish review that criticized the use of "sirs" and "madams" or other such strange manners of speech, but I promise you that is a small portion of this book (besides, this is set in the future so readers shouldn't expect the English language to be exactly the same as it is now). Once you get over that, you'll find space and ground tactics galore, as well as a small force trying to engage in guerrilla warfare to defeat a larger force.
This was the book that really got me into military science fiction. Plot, tactics, character development - everything was done so perfectly. I read every book as soon as it came out, and I just realized I never left a review for the first book after having finished book 7 when that came out.
This was the book that really got me into military science fiction. Plot, tactics, character development - everything was done so perfectly. I read every book as soon as it came out, and I just realized I never left a review for the first book after having finished book 7 when that came out.
January 29, 2013
An excellent book, with many possibilities for future books and spinoffs.
Although the "power of one" is demonstrated here often through the main character, he does show moments of weakness and stupidity. He is clearly human, pun intended.
I especially liked looking at events through the eyes of predators on Koban. One species in particular I have high expectations for in the following books. What path the author has chosen for them remains to be seen, but whatever path involving them will be exciting.
It is one of the few times that I have bought a book when reviewers had mentioned typos and grammatical errors. I am glad I did, and in the future I will not be so much of a snob, as I realize now that excellent writing can occur without necessarily following "spelling and grammar Nazism". However, I did mark one star off because of the editing. I do hope the author will have the next book edited a bit better.
The books length was perfect for the story. The story ended at a good point, and I really look forward to the upcoming book, The Mark of Koban.
Although the "power of one" is demonstrated here often through the main character, he does show moments of weakness and stupidity. He is clearly human, pun intended.
I especially liked looking at events through the eyes of predators on Koban. One species in particular I have high expectations for in the following books. What path the author has chosen for them remains to be seen, but whatever path involving them will be exciting.
It is one of the few times that I have bought a book when reviewers had mentioned typos and grammatical errors. I am glad I did, and in the future I will not be so much of a snob, as I realize now that excellent writing can occur without necessarily following "spelling and grammar Nazism". However, I did mark one star off because of the editing. I do hope the author will have the next book edited a bit better.
The books length was perfect for the story. The story ended at a good point, and I really look forward to the upcoming book, The Mark of Koban.
January 18, 2016
The book starts slow, introducing a universe where Humans spread on hundreds on planets, not meeting anyone and not fighting any wars since few generations. Last great war involved clones, genetic warfare that almost killed male population and changed ways of society.
The passenger ship carrying scientists to far colony is attacked by unknown aliens and occupants are moved to a planet where their combat worthiness will be assessed. Proving to alien war race we deserve to be treated as worthy opponents, not just pray to be exterminated might prolong our chances.
Book is a military alien boot camp style, but with focus on tactics and scientific enhancements that could be done to humans. Overall a good start to what looks like an interesting series.
The passenger ship carrying scientists to far colony is attacked by unknown aliens and occupants are moved to a planet where their combat worthiness will be assessed. Proving to alien war race we deserve to be treated as worthy opponents, not just pray to be exterminated might prolong our chances.
Book is a military alien boot camp style, but with focus on tactics and scientific enhancements that could be done to humans. Overall a good start to what looks like an interesting series.
September 30, 2018
Koban is the first of a seven-book series that tells the tale of Humanity’s first contact with an alien species. The contact happens during a time when faster-than-light travel has been discovered and humans have colonized nearby stars, all of which were uninhabited. The contact, far from being a universal ephimy of humanity’s existence, is hostile, brutal, and threatens to enslave humanity (or worse).
It’s typical for sci-fi series of any length to sustain themselves through action, space battles, over-dramatized drama, and victories against unbeatable odds, and Koban has its fair share of these attributes. However, Koban also possess a contemplative approach to its story. Its plot rests on the strategy and actions of its characters. Will Humanity survive? The answer rests mostly in how clever humanity can be. It is through this means that Koban approaches one of the core purposes of science fiction.
The disagreeable aspects of the book involved the characters. They all had their duties and responsibilities, and they all seemed to fade back into their storyline assignments rather than express individual personalities or feelings. There are no artists, or dreamers, or people passionate about anything other than staying alive. As a result, the death of a character is noted but not experienced.
The story also had the potential to explore a unique situation within human society with its opening extinction of 90-plus percent of the male population. This set the table for a unique woman-dominated perspective, but Bennett fails to deliver on this theme. Men and their acts dominate the plot with the implication by Bennett, be it intentional or unintentional, is that men are the saviors of humanity.
Overall, Koban is engaging with its logic and strategy, but lacking in its depiction of humanity and the humans that comprise it. It’s more or less just another Western set somewhere in space.
It’s typical for sci-fi series of any length to sustain themselves through action, space battles, over-dramatized drama, and victories against unbeatable odds, and Koban has its fair share of these attributes. However, Koban also possess a contemplative approach to its story. Its plot rests on the strategy and actions of its characters. Will Humanity survive? The answer rests mostly in how clever humanity can be. It is through this means that Koban approaches one of the core purposes of science fiction.
The disagreeable aspects of the book involved the characters. They all had their duties and responsibilities, and they all seemed to fade back into their storyline assignments rather than express individual personalities or feelings. There are no artists, or dreamers, or people passionate about anything other than staying alive. As a result, the death of a character is noted but not experienced.
The story also had the potential to explore a unique situation within human society with its opening extinction of 90-plus percent of the male population. This set the table for a unique woman-dominated perspective, but Bennett fails to deliver on this theme. Men and their acts dominate the plot with the implication by Bennett, be it intentional or unintentional, is that men are the saviors of humanity.
Overall, Koban is engaging with its logic and strategy, but lacking in its depiction of humanity and the humans that comprise it. It’s more or less just another Western set somewhere in space.
October 16, 2013
Very good book simply!
February 22, 2016
I have had this book on my to-read list for a while but I have not gotten around to read it. I recently saw that some of my friends on Goodread gave it high marks so I finally decided to give it a go. That was a good choice.
Humanity has been exploring the galaxy in relative piece for hundreds of years. Their only problems have been the usual poor choices of the human race which has led them to make yet another poor choice which leaves them defenceless to the new threath although most of the humans do not yet know about the nightmare that is coming their way. This book is about the few people who are about to, firsthand, experience that nightmare.
The book starts of a wee bit slow but it is quite well written and, although it is perhaps advancing at a somewhat leisurly pace it was still catching my interrest during the entire journey.
Nedless to say the humans concerned are in a for quite a surprise. The aliens are worse than their worst nightmares and, even worse, they soon learn that the very survival of the human race might actually rest in their hands. Not that it matters right now since survival is on position one, two, three etc. on their pritority list. Luckily, well they are the heroes after all, their survival is intimately tied into whether or not the human race will be exterminated or not.
The aliens are an interresting bunch. The book is nicely balanced between the human struggle and the aliens trying to fullfill their desires of following the “Grand Path”. The aliens are hugely adept at killing, by brute force, due to their millenia long selective breeding of warriors. Yet they may have forgotten that strengh alone is not sufficient. It soon turns out that they are children in some aspects of tactical thinking as well as in other matters. Matters where the humans excel.
The wast majority of the book centers around the survival of the human party that was captured. During the course of events a number of characters, of course, takes on the leadership (hero) role. There are a number of characters that are behaving like the usual political assholes that they are as well of course. I am happy to write that the latter set of despicable people are really put aside reasonably quickly and do not really play a major role in the book.
In short this is a book about ascending heroes and humans first encounter with (nasty) aliens. It is very much a, quite long, stage setter for things to come and there are indeed a lot of promise as far as “things to come” goes. I am going to cheat a bit here and reveal that I have already read book two in the series and the next one is at least as good.
Humanity has been exploring the galaxy in relative piece for hundreds of years. Their only problems have been the usual poor choices of the human race which has led them to make yet another poor choice which leaves them defenceless to the new threath although most of the humans do not yet know about the nightmare that is coming their way. This book is about the few people who are about to, firsthand, experience that nightmare.
The book starts of a wee bit slow but it is quite well written and, although it is perhaps advancing at a somewhat leisurly pace it was still catching my interrest during the entire journey.
Nedless to say the humans concerned are in a for quite a surprise. The aliens are worse than their worst nightmares and, even worse, they soon learn that the very survival of the human race might actually rest in their hands. Not that it matters right now since survival is on position one, two, three etc. on their pritority list. Luckily, well they are the heroes after all, their survival is intimately tied into whether or not the human race will be exterminated or not.
The aliens are an interresting bunch. The book is nicely balanced between the human struggle and the aliens trying to fullfill their desires of following the “Grand Path”. The aliens are hugely adept at killing, by brute force, due to their millenia long selective breeding of warriors. Yet they may have forgotten that strengh alone is not sufficient. It soon turns out that they are children in some aspects of tactical thinking as well as in other matters. Matters where the humans excel.
The wast majority of the book centers around the survival of the human party that was captured. During the course of events a number of characters, of course, takes on the leadership (hero) role. There are a number of characters that are behaving like the usual political assholes that they are as well of course. I am happy to write that the latter set of despicable people are really put aside reasonably quickly and do not really play a major role in the book.
In short this is a book about ascending heroes and humans first encounter with (nasty) aliens. It is very much a, quite long, stage setter for things to come and there are indeed a lot of promise as far as “things to come” goes. I am going to cheat a bit here and reveal that I have already read book two in the series and the next one is at least as good.
November 19, 2013
When the ship "Flight of Fancy" is captured by an alien race, the Krall, it appears that all of the humans aboard are doomed. The Krall are stronger, faster, outclass them with weaponry and technology, and want to kill them all.
Thanks to the quick thinking of Captain Mirikami and his incredible leadership skills, the humans are able to avoid immediate death. The humans are to be taken to Koban, a hostile world controlled by the Krall, to join other humans previously captured. There the Krall are testing the humans in combat to determine if they are a "worthy enemy." If so, the Krall can move farther along their "Great Path" by battling these enemies. If the humans do not prove to be a worthy enemy, they will all be killed, since they do not provide tasty meat and would not be worth anything to the Krall.
Captain Mirikami is by far the most awesome character in the book. Business students should be required to read "Koban" to learn how a true leader should act. He remains calm and tries to protect and inspire his crew and passengers. He speaks boldly with the Krall, risking death constantly, and leads his people as they travel to Koban. He communicates regularly with his officers, carefully listening to their input and suggestions. He is a leader who is trusted by his people.
While a lottery has typically been the method to choose which humans fight the Krall, Captain Mirikami knows that in order to have influence among the humans he must lead the way, and he does the unheard of. He volunteers for combat testing, an almost certain death.
I was surprised to feel inspired by Captain Mirikami and his leadership skills. I don't often feel inspired by characters in sci-fi novels!
One thing I didn't like about "Koban" was the topsy-turvy sexism displayed. 300 years earlier men had made some poor decisions regarding clones and armies and almost wiped themselves out. Women then took control and in "Koban" the men are subservient to them. There were several women who enjoyed putting down men, particularly Dillon. One even resorts to hitting him. I realize I am taking this way too seriously, but it seemed as though it just wouldn't stop. It kept popping up throughout the book. I'm sure most found it humorous but I didn't. It is bad enough when men act that way, but to see women acting that way was even worse!
Thanks to the quick thinking of Captain Mirikami and his incredible leadership skills, the humans are able to avoid immediate death. The humans are to be taken to Koban, a hostile world controlled by the Krall, to join other humans previously captured. There the Krall are testing the humans in combat to determine if they are a "worthy enemy." If so, the Krall can move farther along their "Great Path" by battling these enemies. If the humans do not prove to be a worthy enemy, they will all be killed, since they do not provide tasty meat and would not be worth anything to the Krall.
Captain Mirikami is by far the most awesome character in the book. Business students should be required to read "Koban" to learn how a true leader should act. He remains calm and tries to protect and inspire his crew and passengers. He speaks boldly with the Krall, risking death constantly, and leads his people as they travel to Koban. He communicates regularly with his officers, carefully listening to their input and suggestions. He is a leader who is trusted by his people.
While a lottery has typically been the method to choose which humans fight the Krall, Captain Mirikami knows that in order to have influence among the humans he must lead the way, and he does the unheard of. He volunteers for combat testing, an almost certain death.
I was surprised to feel inspired by Captain Mirikami and his leadership skills. I don't often feel inspired by characters in sci-fi novels!
One thing I didn't like about "Koban" was the topsy-turvy sexism displayed. 300 years earlier men had made some poor decisions regarding clones and armies and almost wiped themselves out. Women then took control and in "Koban" the men are subservient to them. There were several women who enjoyed putting down men, particularly Dillon. One even resorts to hitting him. I realize I am taking this way too seriously, but it seemed as though it just wouldn't stop. It kept popping up throughout the book. I'm sure most found it humorous but I didn't. It is bad enough when men act that way, but to see women acting that way was even worse!
May 2, 2016
Well I'm batting 1000 today. I have now returned 3 books to Audible. This book was the second "space opera" type book i started today. I pushed through the first and gave it a 2 for the idea. This one is so poor it crossed the line to annoying enough to make me want to have purchased a paper copy so I could throw it across the room!
The book opens up "okay" with the back story but a false note soon sounds. A female character "walks" onto the scene and she is, "tall and stunningly beautiful". Now I admit that many writers incorporate "tall and stunningly beautiful" female characters into their books, they might even be said to be ubiquitous (especially among lonely male writers...and possibly lonely lesbian writers though I'm not sure on that score). The thing is here that having set up a back ground where most human males had been wiped out in a past biological attack that spread from planet to planet the book's story become sex saturated.
Okay, I'm an adult. I can live with some sex in a book, I get that sex sells. But here when men and women meet there's almost a greeting of "hey baby I'm a fertile male want to f***?" Of course its phrased in a sort of courtly language with the female then giving her answer in the same sort of formal language. The book is so involved in the flirtatious, breeding type obsession of everybody the story hasn't get a chance.
Again, I could have lived with the universe where the people were obsessed with mating and replenishing the species but I somehow doubt that even in that situation we'd get the heavily sexualized greetings on the bridge of an interstellar war ship.
So an official "OH GOOD GRIEF" and I returned the book.
sigh maybe I'll like the next book I start.
The book opens up "okay" with the back story but a false note soon sounds. A female character "walks" onto the scene and she is, "tall and stunningly beautiful". Now I admit that many writers incorporate "tall and stunningly beautiful" female characters into their books, they might even be said to be ubiquitous (especially among lonely male writers...and possibly lonely lesbian writers though I'm not sure on that score). The thing is here that having set up a back ground where most human males had been wiped out in a past biological attack that spread from planet to planet the book's story become sex saturated.
Okay, I'm an adult. I can live with some sex in a book, I get that sex sells. But here when men and women meet there's almost a greeting of "hey baby I'm a fertile male want to f***?" Of course its phrased in a sort of courtly language with the female then giving her answer in the same sort of formal language. The book is so involved in the flirtatious, breeding type obsession of everybody the story hasn't get a chance.
Again, I could have lived with the universe where the people were obsessed with mating and replenishing the species but I somehow doubt that even in that situation we'd get the heavily sexualized greetings on the bridge of an interstellar war ship.
So an official "OH GOOD GRIEF" and I returned the book.
sigh maybe I'll like the next book I start.
September 1, 2015
If you like space opera, and/or humans fighting aliens, then this series is probably for you. I'd really rave on this series if I didn't find the author's humor to be 90 percent of the time identical to a 13 year old male. Everything else was really quite good, especially for what seems to be this authors first attempts at this.
But man, so much potty humor, so many otherwise great characters who have such horrible and immature sens of humor. Ugh. Fart jokes, puns, this author can do all the worst humor, and does.
But let me end that this was still a great series overall. It doesn't seem at all done after the 5th book, he just hasn't written more yet.
But man, so much potty humor, so many otherwise great characters who have such horrible and immature sens of humor. Ugh. Fart jokes, puns, this author can do all the worst humor, and does.
But let me end that this was still a great series overall. It doesn't seem at all done after the 5th book, he just hasn't written more yet.
November 21, 2014
So far I like it, however...
however...
however...
however...
Maybe it's just because i'm listening to the audiobook feature, but the author over uses this sentence structure (situation/problem, however, solution/alternative) a bit too much and I cringe when I keep hearing "however" at least once every minute.
however...
however...
however...
Maybe it's just because i'm listening to the audiobook feature, but the author over uses this sentence structure (situation/problem, however, solution/alternative) a bit too much and I cringe when I keep hearing "however" at least once every minute.
November 26, 2015
Epic new space opera!
Very interesting take on the space opera. Lots of detail, intrigue, fighting and world building. What a unique new universe and interesting story threads being set up.
Very interesting take on the space opera. Lots of detail, intrigue, fighting and world building. What a unique new universe and interesting story threads being set up.
June 6, 2018
Not worth reading
This book was not worth reading somehow even though most men died from a biological attack the man characters are men and the women are idiots. And apparently even though men are to be protected somehow it's okay for women to groin shot men. This book is junk.
This book was not worth reading somehow even though most men died from a biological attack the man characters are men and the women are idiots. And apparently even though men are to be protected somehow it's okay for women to groin shot men. This book is junk.
May 7, 2013
boring and seemingly unrealistic behaviour in the beginning and mid but fantastic ideas at the end and in the second book
March 29, 2016
Both boring and poorly-written. Also, has a weird "when's international men's day" thing going on.
October 8, 2017
This is an engaging story of alien enemy confrontation and human survival.
Humankind has had hundreds of years without wars and without the need for military forces. It is now a race dominated by women who took over to remove the aggressive warring natures of men. Captain Mirikami is somewhat rare as a male captain but he and his crew were deemed appropriate to deliver a scientific expedition to a human station out on the rim. Rather than finding human response, Mirikami and his ship are threatened and boarded by an alien species that introduces itself as the Krall.
The Krall are a warrior race who has strengthened itself through biological and genetic breeding of its strongest. Their goal is to control the universe through superior power and conquest. The planet Koban is a high gravity planet where the Krall are at home and humans at a distinct disadvantage. Koban is full of super strong and super-fast predators, as well as large prey. The Krall consider Koban their ‘home’ planet even though so far it has been used primarily as a testing ground.
The Krall are always seeking prey to fight that can help further develop their fighting skills. They bring humans, or other ‘prey’ races, to Koban where they are pulled out at regular intervals to be tested against Krall training warriors. Some races have become slaves and one is even raised as a food source. The humans don’t taste that good so they are used as fighters. Their weaker strength makes them little opposition and the Krall are thinking of just eliminating the race that provides little challenge or value.
The Krall capture Mirikami’s ship and suddenly discover an enemy that is challenging due to its strategies and cunning if not its strength. The humans on Koban are provided some hope of surviving, but an initial success may be short lived. The Krall return from further space conquest with a large group of human ships, passenger and cargo. Because of the success of Mirikami’s fighters the Krall are excited about seeking more humans to fight. The Krall set off to search out humans to conquer but decide to leave the humans on Koban to face the elements of the planet without the walls of the compound and without power. The Krall don’t realize that humans don’t give in so easily.
I really liked Captain Mirikami and the primary officers, doctors and other characters who eventually become part of his core team. The combination of intelligence and innovative thinking shows the resilience of humankind. They also have additional help that they kept secret from the Kralls that will add to their survival efforts.
The world-building is well done with natural enemies in the environment as well as the Krall characteristics and internal politics that come into play. The action and scheming run throughout the story. One element that was a bit distracting was character chuckling although it is not clear if that was a written element or narrator interpretation. I was engaged sufficiently that I am eager to continue the saga with the next book. I do recommend this to readers who enjoy action stories with strong alien conflict and human survival elements.
Audio Notes: The beginning audio is a little dry and maybe I was expecting inferior narration based upon earlier reviews. However, after an hour or two I found the narration by Patrick Freeman to be effective with the character voices and personalities. He captures the growls and snorts of the Krall as well as the snark, humor and strengths of the human characters. I didn’t think the addition of the chapter break sounds and few background sounds was really necessary although the sound effects didn’t detract from the listening experience. I was fully engaged by the story and narration so that this 25 hours+ went very quickly.
Humankind has had hundreds of years without wars and without the need for military forces. It is now a race dominated by women who took over to remove the aggressive warring natures of men. Captain Mirikami is somewhat rare as a male captain but he and his crew were deemed appropriate to deliver a scientific expedition to a human station out on the rim. Rather than finding human response, Mirikami and his ship are threatened and boarded by an alien species that introduces itself as the Krall.
The Krall are a warrior race who has strengthened itself through biological and genetic breeding of its strongest. Their goal is to control the universe through superior power and conquest. The planet Koban is a high gravity planet where the Krall are at home and humans at a distinct disadvantage. Koban is full of super strong and super-fast predators, as well as large prey. The Krall consider Koban their ‘home’ planet even though so far it has been used primarily as a testing ground.
The Krall are always seeking prey to fight that can help further develop their fighting skills. They bring humans, or other ‘prey’ races, to Koban where they are pulled out at regular intervals to be tested against Krall training warriors. Some races have become slaves and one is even raised as a food source. The humans don’t taste that good so they are used as fighters. Their weaker strength makes them little opposition and the Krall are thinking of just eliminating the race that provides little challenge or value.
The Krall capture Mirikami’s ship and suddenly discover an enemy that is challenging due to its strategies and cunning if not its strength. The humans on Koban are provided some hope of surviving, but an initial success may be short lived. The Krall return from further space conquest with a large group of human ships, passenger and cargo. Because of the success of Mirikami’s fighters the Krall are excited about seeking more humans to fight. The Krall set off to search out humans to conquer but decide to leave the humans on Koban to face the elements of the planet without the walls of the compound and without power. The Krall don’t realize that humans don’t give in so easily.
I really liked Captain Mirikami and the primary officers, doctors and other characters who eventually become part of his core team. The combination of intelligence and innovative thinking shows the resilience of humankind. They also have additional help that they kept secret from the Kralls that will add to their survival efforts.
The world-building is well done with natural enemies in the environment as well as the Krall characteristics and internal politics that come into play. The action and scheming run throughout the story. One element that was a bit distracting was character chuckling although it is not clear if that was a written element or narrator interpretation. I was engaged sufficiently that I am eager to continue the saga with the next book. I do recommend this to readers who enjoy action stories with strong alien conflict and human survival elements.
Audio Notes: The beginning audio is a little dry and maybe I was expecting inferior narration based upon earlier reviews. However, after an hour or two I found the narration by Patrick Freeman to be effective with the character voices and personalities. He captures the growls and snorts of the Krall as well as the snark, humor and strengths of the human characters. I didn’t think the addition of the chapter break sounds and few background sounds was really necessary although the sound effects didn’t detract from the listening experience. I was fully engaged by the story and narration so that this 25 hours+ went very quickly.
June 14, 2017
Long winded doesn't even begin to describe this book, the world building for human space and history alone takes up a very large portion of the first quarter of this book. The pay off of political intrigue, violent aliens, detailed scientific analysis of space travel and gene mods, military strategy and a surprising amount of comedy make for a gratifying read.
At the end of the day the fact that I picked up book two instantly after finishing is more telling about the potential series than anything I can put on this page.
At the end of the day the fact that I picked up book two instantly after finishing is more telling about the potential series than anything I can put on this page.
January 15, 2018
Good storyline.
I loved the story but found the errors in verb conjugation and one grievous anatomy error distracting at first. If the author ever needs an extra proofreader I'm available. That said I'm glad I didn't let that stop me (or maybe the story didn't let me stop). A whopping good tale, can't wait to read the next book.
I loved the story but found the errors in verb conjugation and one grievous anatomy error distracting at first. If the author ever needs an extra proofreader I'm available. That said I'm glad I didn't let that stop me (or maybe the story didn't let me stop). A whopping good tale, can't wait to read the next book.
January 4, 2018
Worthy Read
Story started slowly for me and kept my interest until the story really started to pick up. Looking forward to the next in the series. Hopefully it’ll build on the promise of this books ending.
Story started slowly for me and kept my interest until the story really started to pick up. Looking forward to the next in the series. Hopefully it’ll build on the promise of this books ending.
April 1, 2017
This felt a lot like Battlefield Earth but with an interesting look at alien morality and motivations.
Read
May 7, 2017Hard sci-fi is always a hard sell for me and I will be honest that I was surprised how I kept going with this book, even though it took so long to get going. But the human hunt scene alone makes it all worthwhile, even if the science gets kinda iffy toward the end.
Audiobook Worthy: Ayup
Audiobook Worthy: Ayup
July 3, 2017
Great story!
Very fun to read,and very detailed. So helpful! It seemed a little long though,and dragged a little bit at times.
Very fun to read,and very detailed. So helpful! It seemed a little long though,and dragged a little bit at times.
December 30, 2018
Leave a space on your shelf for this space epic. Check out our full review on our podcast - https://theinsideflap.com/2018/12/16/...
December 20, 2018
Good read.
It took me awhile to read this just because parts of it didn't resonate with me. Fast, slow, fast, slow. Overall a very well done book and I will certainly work through the entire series. The classic proof that a big brain can certainly trump big muscles.
It took me awhile to read this just because parts of it didn't resonate with me. Fast, slow, fast, slow. Overall a very well done book and I will certainly work through the entire series. The classic proof that a big brain can certainly trump big muscles.
September 1, 2015
Hmm, I don't really know how to rate this. In some respects the story is quite awesome, but in others its... terrible. So, I'm mixed up. The best way to describe this book is:
ODD
Some bad things:
Editing.
The dialogue
The comedy
Subtlety
The gender issues
The style of writing
The action scenes
The social politics
And even though there are some serious weaknesses to the story I still like it. I just can't explain why to you.
Some good things:
The plot
The progression of events
The world building
The scientific descriptions
The military tactics
So, in conclusion. It's both a bad book and a good book. You'll have to decide for yourself where you fall into, the lovers or the haters. I think I am a hesitant optimist. We'll see.
ODD
Some bad things:
Editing.
The dialogue
The comedy
Subtlety
The gender issues
The style of writing
The action scenes
The social politics
And even though there are some serious weaknesses to the story I still like it. I just can't explain why to you.
Some good things:
The plot
The progression of events
The world building
The scientific descriptions
The military tactics
So, in conclusion. It's both a bad book and a good book. You'll have to decide for yourself where you fall into, the lovers or the haters. I think I am a hesitant optimist. We'll see.
August 19, 2019
Good book, a little slow at times but a good story.
Unfortunately, the audiobook narrated by Patrick Freeman has some annoying sound effects that don't add to the story. Thankfully the following books don't have any sound effects.
Unfortunately, the audiobook narrated by Patrick Freeman has some annoying sound effects that don't add to the story. Thankfully the following books don't have any sound effects.
August 27, 2016
The Koban space opera is flawed, but very very good. I hated the first half of book 1, but the world-building grew on me, and I became fixated on finding out how this band of upstart humans would prevail against an aggressive reptilian horde race.
Let me get the flaws out of the way first:
1. Bennett's character dialog is stiff, and the characters' voices struggle to come through. The dialog does improve through the six-book series, but it's secondary to the world-building and military combat.
2. Bennett sometimes repeats his exposition, telling a scene twice from two different perspectives. It's not awful, but it is distracting and occurs about 5 times in this book.
3. The editorial proofreading needs work. Many grammatical and spelling errors leak through.
The good:
1. The Koban world-building is terrific! If you can get past the weird sexism of Book 1's first half, you'll find that this space opera is epic and entertaining.
2. The weaving of genetic biology and tachyon physics really adds great science flavor.
3. The richness of the Koban wildlife is delightful, with the interesting flavor of storytelling from the animals' point of view.
4. Protagonists Tetsuo Mirikami and Maggie Fisher should really grow on you. I imagine actors Daniel Wu and a young Meg Ryan playing these two roles in a movie adaptation.
5. Lots and lots of military violence action, both ground-based and space-based! Yes, this Koban series will be a good fix for those of you who like military space operas.
6. The series really builds nicely, book after book. By the time I hit book 3, I was considering taking vacation time from work just so I could finish reading this series without breaks :)
I would compare the Koban mythology to these other military SF series:
-John Ringo's Posleen series
-John Ringo's and David Weber's 'March Upcountry' series
-Marko Kloos's 'Frontlines' series
-Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series
If you liked any of the above reads, then give the Koban series a try. Expect the first half of book 1 to be slow with backstory and scene-setting, but once you meet the Krall, the series will really take off.
Five stars out of five, minus one star for the flaws listed above.
Let me get the flaws out of the way first:
1. Bennett's character dialog is stiff, and the characters' voices struggle to come through. The dialog does improve through the six-book series, but it's secondary to the world-building and military combat.
2. Bennett sometimes repeats his exposition, telling a scene twice from two different perspectives. It's not awful, but it is distracting and occurs about 5 times in this book.
3. The editorial proofreading needs work. Many grammatical and spelling errors leak through.
The good:
1. The Koban world-building is terrific! If you can get past the weird sexism of Book 1's first half, you'll find that this space opera is epic and entertaining.
2. The weaving of genetic biology and tachyon physics really adds great science flavor.
3. The richness of the Koban wildlife is delightful, with the interesting flavor of storytelling from the animals' point of view.
4. Protagonists Tetsuo Mirikami and Maggie Fisher should really grow on you. I imagine actors Daniel Wu and a young Meg Ryan playing these two roles in a movie adaptation.
5. Lots and lots of military violence action, both ground-based and space-based! Yes, this Koban series will be a good fix for those of you who like military space operas.
6. The series really builds nicely, book after book. By the time I hit book 3, I was considering taking vacation time from work just so I could finish reading this series without breaks :)
I would compare the Koban mythology to these other military SF series:
-John Ringo's Posleen series
-John Ringo's and David Weber's 'March Upcountry' series
-Marko Kloos's 'Frontlines' series
-Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series
If you liked any of the above reads, then give the Koban series a try. Expect the first half of book 1 to be slow with backstory and scene-setting, but once you meet the Krall, the series will really take off.
Five stars out of five, minus one star for the flaws listed above.
November 20, 2014
Let's start with the bad:
Way too long. I am a fan of world building, but this got tedious for me. The book description talks about the captured humans struggling on the planet Koban. A third of the way into the book, the characters STILL have not made it to the planet.
Another thing the author does continuously is infodump a bunch of information on the reader via a character 'thinking' and then have all that information repeated two pages later in conversation between two characters. Either method works just fine. Pick one!
Final negative; I could not tell if the author was trying to make a political/cultural point, and if so, what that point was. The casual anti-male attitude in even some of the 'heroines' is as bad as the worst stories of the 1950's and before. A woman in authority casually reaches down and grabs a subordinate's crotch. This is done without comment afterwards, so that makes me think this is considered acceptable, normal behavior. Is the author trying to say the world will be better like this, or is he saying that if we had a full gender power role reversal that behavior would remain the same, with the empowered gender behaving very poorly?
Now the good:
The premise works. It takes a while to get all the details. I spent the first half of the book questioning HOW the aliens could have possibly even gotten off their home planet, but by the end it all actually made sense. It's kind of a worst case scenario; what happens if you give a bunch of twelve year olds all the weapons and tools of adults and no adult supervision. Lord of the Flies on a galactic scale.
The villains work. They are more than just cardboard cutouts for the humans to play off of. And even when the humans out-think them, that doesn't always end well for the humans. You get the idea that when the Krall are playing with humans, things are bad. And when the Krall stop playing, and get serious, things are going to get even worse.
Way too long. I am a fan of world building, but this got tedious for me. The book description talks about the captured humans struggling on the planet Koban. A third of the way into the book, the characters STILL have not made it to the planet.
Another thing the author does continuously is infodump a bunch of information on the reader via a character 'thinking' and then have all that information repeated two pages later in conversation between two characters. Either method works just fine. Pick one!
Final negative; I could not tell if the author was trying to make a political/cultural point, and if so, what that point was. The casual anti-male attitude in even some of the 'heroines' is as bad as the worst stories of the 1950's and before. A woman in authority casually reaches down and grabs a subordinate's crotch. This is done without comment afterwards, so that makes me think this is considered acceptable, normal behavior. Is the author trying to say the world will be better like this, or is he saying that if we had a full gender power role reversal that behavior would remain the same, with the empowered gender behaving very poorly?
Now the good:
The premise works. It takes a while to get all the details. I spent the first half of the book questioning HOW the aliens could have possibly even gotten off their home planet, but by the end it all actually made sense. It's kind of a worst case scenario; what happens if you give a bunch of twelve year olds all the weapons and tools of adults and no adult supervision. Lord of the Flies on a galactic scale.
The villains work. They are more than just cardboard cutouts for the humans to play off of. And even when the humans out-think them, that doesn't always end well for the humans. You get the idea that when the Krall are playing with humans, things are bad. And when the Krall stop playing, and get serious, things are going to get even worse.
February 19, 2013
Koban was a novel that I enjoyed for a weekend read. I could follow along with how the various cultures came about and found the plot moved along reasonably well. I will say that I found he Krall a little bit over done. I would think that in general their whole best predator mindset would have taken a bit of a beating somewhere in the whole 25,000 years of their conquests. If they really are that technologically stupid then why have their slave classes haven't successfully staged some kind of revolt (or sabotage of their system). I understand the Raspani devolving but the Prada and Torki might have a sub-culture simply waiting for their chance.
I look forward to the second book but wonder just how the rest of the human race will fare against the Krall if the effect of the gene-war is as complete as was implied. I think in general that it can't be for any number of reasons and expect that we will see a large change in human space soon.
In general I'm quite curious about the 2nd planet that was observed in the Kobani system. It was behind the star when the Fancies arrived, was it visible to the other new arrivals? You implied it could be class M, I would think it could be reachable if they fix some of their ships. You mentioned the need for a control group that could interbreed with the Kobani what better way to separate them then putting them on a 2nd planet.
I am a bit surprised that no other civilizations (while not being aggressive) were technologically advanced and defensive enough that the Krall wouldn't find them almost impossible to conquer.
Can't wait for the next book (I fell I picked this up at a good time since your discussion says it should be out before valentines day.
gallandro
I look forward to the second book but wonder just how the rest of the human race will fare against the Krall if the effect of the gene-war is as complete as was implied. I think in general that it can't be for any number of reasons and expect that we will see a large change in human space soon.
In general I'm quite curious about the 2nd planet that was observed in the Kobani system. It was behind the star when the Fancies arrived, was it visible to the other new arrivals? You implied it could be class M, I would think it could be reachable if they fix some of their ships. You mentioned the need for a control group that could interbreed with the Kobani what better way to separate them then putting them on a 2nd planet.
I am a bit surprised that no other civilizations (while not being aggressive) were technologically advanced and defensive enough that the Krall wouldn't find them almost impossible to conquer.
Can't wait for the next book (I fell I picked this up at a good time since your discussion says it should be out before valentines day.
gallandro
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